40 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • MAY 2, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
health
Pushing for a Strong Start for Babies
Your Medicare Annual Wellness Visit: Preventive care, health planning at no extra cost
Once you become eligible for Medicare,
you’ll likely start hearing about something
called an Annual Wellness Visit.
Many people think an Annual Wellness
Visit and a physical are one and the same.
But they’re not.
Unlike a standard head-to-toe physical,
an Annual Wellness Visit is primarily
focused on preventive care, health screenings
and wellness planning. It gives you an
opportunity to have a conversation with
your doctor about your health status and
goals and then create a long-term plan to
help you meet those goals and maximize
your well-being.
While Original Medicare doesn’t cover
an annual physical, some Medicare
Advantage plans do. Everyone enrolled
in Original Medicare and Medicare
Advantage, though, is eligible for an
Annual Wellness Visit at no additional cost
to you. If your Medicare Advantage plan
includes coverage for an annual comprehensive
physical exam, ask your provider
if the Annual Wellness Visit and the physical
can be scheduled during the same visit.
Below you’ll fi nd an overview of what to
expect from your Annual Wellness Visit.
Taking stock of your
medical history
Your primary care professional will
review your relevant medical history,
including major illnesses, surgeries, your
current medical condition and medications
you’re taking.
Your doctor’s offi ce may send you a form
ahead of your appointment that includes
a list of questions. Filling out this form in
advance can ensure your doctor has a thorough
understanding of your health history
and also remind you of any questions you
might want to raise at the appointment.
If you don’t get a form before your
visit, you should still be prepared to be as
detailed as possible when describing any
past medical procedures and illnesses.
The who’s who of your
health care team
Th e primary care provider you see for
your wellness visit will want to know who’s
part of your health care team. He or she
may also want to work closely with other
health care professionals involved in your
care. Th erefore, you should be prepared
to give the person conducting your visit a
list of your current health care providers,
including contact information and fi eld
of specialty.
You may have chosen a health care surrogate
or a proxy who will speak on your
behalf should you ever become too sick
to speak for yourself. If so, bring a copy
of your completed forms to your appointment.
If you haven’t made your choices
yet, this is a good time to get your physician’s
advice on your personal advance
care planning.
An Rx for a productive
medication review
Getting a full rundown of all your vitamins,
minerals, herbal supplements and
prescription medications can help the doctor
spot potential drug interactions that
could be harmful to your health. He or she
will also want to ensure you have a complete
understanding of each medication,
what it’s for and any potential side eff ects.
Make a list, including how oft en you take
each medication and the dosage. Better
yet, bring all your pill bottles with you to
your appointment and show them to the
provider.
Stats and screenings
A clinician will check your height,
weight and blood pressure, and your provider
will then likely ask you some questions,
including how you have been feeling
recently. Th ese questions are designed
to test your cognitive function and screen
you for depression. Answer them as honestly
as possible and come to the appointment
well-rested so you can perform your
best on the tests.
Creating a wellness plan
Aft er completing all tests and assessments,
your provider will be ready to
assess your current health status and work
with you to develop a plan to meet your
health goals. Th at plan will address how
to treat your current conditions and how
to prevent future health problems. If you
have any risk factors for developing new
conditions, your provider will give you
some options for managing those risks.
You can also set up a schedule for preventive
care or screening tests, and discuss
treatment options for any newly diagnosed
conditions.
Be prepared to get the most out of this
planning by developing a list of questions
you would like to ask at the appointment.
And don’t be shy with your questions.
During the Annual Wellness Visit,
your provider should have more time
than usual to listen to your concerns and
answer your questions.
Whatever your health goals are, your
provider can’t help you reach them if he
or she doesn’t know about them. So be as
open and honest as possible during your
visit.
Things to keep in mind
• Make sure the appointment is scheduled
specifi cally as an Annual Wellness Visit,
or the provider may bill it as a normal
offi ce visit, which could be subject to a
copay, depending on your plan. If you’re
a UnitedHealthcare member, the customer
service team can schedule your
appointment for you.
• If your provider orders a test during
the Annual Wellness Visit, you may be
charged any applicable lab or diagnostic
copay for the recommended services.
The bottom line
When you are prepared, your Annual
Wellness Visit is more than just an offi ce
visit. It is your opportunity to take charge
of your health and ensure you’re on the
right path to living the life you want. If you
haven’t scheduled yours yet, use this as the
push you need to get it on your calendar. It
could be one of the most important conversations
you have all year.
Courtesy BPT
More than 10,000 babies are born
each day in the United States. Where
they are born and where they live
during the fi rst years of their lives can
make a diff erence in their chances for
strong starts.
Science shows that human brains
grow faster between the ages of 0-3
than at any later point in people’s lives,
forming more than one million neural
connections every second. Nurturing
relationships, early learning experiences
and good health and nutrition infl uence
all areas of a child’s development,
setting a strong foundation for the rest
of his or her life.
According to the “State of Babies
Yearbook: 2019,” published by Zero
To Th ree, an early childhood development
nonprofi t organization, babies in
many states face persistent hardships
that undermine their ability to grow
and thrive, such as staggering child
care costs and lack of comprehensive
paid family and medical leave.
“Families are struggling every day,
in every state, and we are urging our
leaders to act,” said Myra Jones-Taylor,
chief policy offi cer of Zero To Th ree.
“Most of our investments in early
childhood start too late, at age 4 or
older. By that time, some of the most
important years of brain development
have passed. Today’s babies become
tomorrow’s workers, parents and leaders.
Now is the time for policymakers
on both sides of the aisle to make
every baby a priority through policies
built on the science of brain development
and budgets that put babies and
families fi rst.”
To help ensure a brighter future for
all babies, the organization is working
with Congress through events like
“Strolling Th under” to help drive support
for policies and programs that prioritize
the needs of babies, toddlers
and their families. Its policy agenda
includes establishing a comprehensive
national paid leave program that provides
adequate time off to care for
newborns or newly adopted children,
and allows families to take leave if
their child or another family member
is experiencing a serious illness;
expanding access to quality, aff ordable
child care by increasing investments
in the child care system while
also working toward a comprehensive,
long-term solution for working families;
and increasing investments in
programs that support babies’ healthy
development, such as Early Head Start,
and infant and early childhood mental
health.
“As a director of an early childhood
education program, I can speak fi rsthand
to the struggle associated with
providing high-quality care and education
programs for young children while
balancing that against what parents
can reasonably aff ord to pay for child
care,” said Jessica Carter, a “Strolling
Th under” parent from North Carolina.
“As a mother of two, I can also speak
fi rsthand to the fact that if I did not
receive discounted tuition at my center,
I would not be able to aff ord child
care costs and would be forced to stay
at home with my children. As a result,
our family would not have aff ordable
access to health care. Further, our children
would not benefi t from the social
and educational benefi ts they receive
in a group care setting.”
In order to help make babies a
national priority, consider letting your
policymakers know you care about the
policies and programs babies need for
strong starts to their lives, and join the
team that’s fi ghting for their futures at
thinkbabies.org/strollingthunder.
Courtesy Family Features
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